This is a short post today that I am typing up on my cell phone. I'm on the team bus riding back from a football game where I just had to tell a college freshman that their first season of collegiate athletics was over after playing only one game.
This athlete most likely completely ruptured their ACL today and will probably need season ending surgery. This wasn't the first patient that I have delivered this news to and I'm sure it won't be the last. They took the news very well compared to others and didn't visibly weep.
Despite the athlete taking it so well I found myself trying to decide how empathetic I should be towards him. The mother of the athlete was openly weeping and so I tried to answer any questions that I could for the family and athlete. I also tried to be as positive when discussing the future.
Seeing that this athlete is a freshman I have only known them for less than a month at this point. I don't have a lot of history with them and I don't know their personality very well yet. This will change as they will be forced to spend the next six months at least rehabilitating this injury after surgery.
I am writing this post because I find myself wondering if I was too cold, too invested or neither. Actually, I'm wondering if it's better to be one or the other? Maybe it's better for the patient to be overly empathetic and better for my own psyche to be a little desensitized.
The true answer probably lies somewhere in the middle and depends on the situation, the athlete's personality, and the severity of injury. I'm curious how others deal with these types of situations and thought processes. This isn't something that is explicitly taught or discussed in school. Perhaps this is related to why there is such a high rate of burnout in health care professions?
Thoughts or comments? I'd love to hear what y'all think.
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